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I wished Ash thought of the whole speed thing with Pikachu rather than Brock giving him advice. I wanted to see how would Ash handle a gym without the help of gymleaders. But as you watch these episodes, you can see that Ash had no brain back then.

A great episode. Raichu was amazing, I felt bad when Pikachu was getting whipped by Raichu's tail. But, I guess that's part of a Pokemon battle. I wonder what other Pokemon Surge has in his possession in the anime?

I really liked this episode. For me this is the most epic gym battle in all of Pokemon. The Kanto gyms in generall have more of a rivalry thing between Ash/the leader. But in this episode Pikachu/Raichu is having this aswell and I really love it.

The fact that Pikachu refused to evolve is something I think added something great to Pokemon. This old episodes is ****ing amazing good to show the friendship Ash has with the Pokemons. Ash let Pikachu decide if he wanna evolve or not cause he knows that even if he wanna win Pikachu will never be the same if he evolve and that is actually a decision Pikachu should take. Even if you are a trainer and wanna become a master those Pokemons have feelings and I would hate Ash if he tried to force Pikachu to evolve. He understands it is something more then just winning and that is a great thing to show.

This episode has a special meaning to me since it made me REALLY like Raichu as a pokémon. Since Surge's was so cool, that helped me consider Raichu my favorite pokémon alongside Pikachu.
Also, I like how they handled the AshxPikachu dynamic here, specially with Ash giving Pikachu an opportunity to choose if he wants to evolve or not. This kind of thing is what sets Ash apart other characters in the franchise for me.

This is a really good.....no, Great episode! This is the first GOOD gym battle of the Pokémon anime. Vermilion City's Gym leader Lt. Surge was huge.....I mean really huge, even taller than Brock and the other gym trainers. It's funny when Lt. Surge gave Misty a hug all of sudden and called her cute while holding her in his arms. It's hard belive he would hit on someone much younger than him, but hey...Rudy and Danny hit on Misty too. Anyway it's sad to see Ash's Pikachu lose terribly in the first battle. The scene where Pikachu refusing to evolve was touching, I liked how he wanted to prove that he can beat Raichu without evolving. I'm glad Ash didn't make Pikachu evolve forcefully and let Pikachu decide whether he wants to evolve or not.

I loved the second battle between Raichu and Pikachu. This time Pikachu defeated Raichu with his speed and won the battle! He proved that he can be storng without evolving, and that's the best part of this episode. The last scene with Ash was hugging Pikachu and 'seeing the stars' was great, it's shows the great bond between Ash and Pikachu. Also, this is the first time Ash earned a gym badge by actually WINNING the gym battle instead of getting a 'pity' badge from the gym leader.

The only things I didn't like about this episode was Team Rocket and Misty. Team Rocket was OOC in this one. Instead of trying to catch Pikachu, all of sudden they started to feel sorry for him and tries to cheer him. Oh....whatever, Ash and Pikachu cared less about them anyway. Misty was a jerk in this episode. Instead of cheering Ash, she kept discouraging Ash about his gym battle throughout the episode and I didn't like it. If it wasn't for Nurse Joy, Ash would've punched Misty right in face(it would've been terrible if he did that). Misty wasn't really a good friend of Ash in the some of the early Kanto episodes, most of the time she tried to put him down. That's one of the things I really disliked about Misty in the Kanto episode, thankfully she became more mature in Johto.

Last edited by PokemontrainerY; 25th December 2013 at 3:35 PM.

Pokémon XY

Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!

Originally Posted by DaDonYordel

Are we not just silly people writing silly complaints on this message board?

Just getting this quote from Nurse Joy out of the way (since it made me laugh): “I think I'm the prettiest one.” Well, at least she has a bit of a personality we hadn't seen from Pewter City's Joy. The fact Brock agreed makes it all the more hilarious.

Anyway.

It's been a while since we last had a buddy episode between Ash and Pikachu. Those are honestly some of the better episodes because that's what Pokémon is all about: the bond between trainer (or more specifically humans) and Pokémon. Even with the later (rather negative) reputation Ash and Pikachu will eventually develop as individuals, when they're together, they complete each other. These buddy episodes have the heart of Pokémon that they carried from the very first episode, and it's sadly easy to forget due to these episodes being so far and in-between at times. But when they shine, they really do shine.

This is probably why the Lt. Surge battle is my favorite of all of the Kanto episodes—and maybe ever. I remember sitting there in front of the television when it first aired cheering on for Ash and Pikachu because I wanted them to work together and win. And when they did, it left a warm and fuzzy feeling (though it must've been from the static of the television).

There really isn't much to point out that takes away from the spirit of the episode. It's similar to the first episode in terms of pacing and character development, particularly when it comes to Ash and Pikachu. The strongest moment of the episode is when Ash allows Pikachu to decide if he wants to evolve or not, and is one of my most well-remembered moments in the show. While it's nothing new now, at the time, Pikachu's refusal was shocking (*rimshot*), and really powerful. Who would've guessed that Pokémon could decide to evolve or not when it comes to individuality? Then again, we were probably dumb kids who didn't realize that Pokémon have the willpower to make their own decisions outside of choosing to become a trainer's Pokémon. Or was that just me? Anyway, the next one to do this is probably Bulbasaur later on, but we never see Squirtle evolve either, so he must have the same mindset (despite never seeing him make that decision, as far as I remember).

Lt. Surge only showed up in two scenes, and yet he's one of the most memorable characters in the show because he does stand out. He's a tall, deep-voiced man who is a bit of a bully (though I totally forgot he hit on Misty for that brief moment, wow), putting down his challengers when they walk right in. Whether he really intends to or not is probably up for interpretation especially since he's a gym leader, but it shows how prideful he is in himself. He's convinced his Raichu is powerful and can take down anything. And you know how they say Pokémon take after their trainers? It's obvious Raichu takes after Surge a lot, from the pantomiming to his attitude. He is just as puffed up about himself as Surge, and it creates an odd contrast to the bond between Ash and Pikachu.

(By the way, I have to point out that when Ash was putting Raichu's data into the PokéDex, it said that a Raichu's electric attacks can make a Dragonite unconscious. And how “convenient” that he sees a Dragonite the previous episode—yet didn't know what it was. Hmm... contradicting yourself already, Pokémon? For shame, you're a few seasons too early.)

The battle is rather brutal, Lt. Surge really showed no mercy—again, probably because of his pride. The first time Ash battles him, Pikachu was hit by what should've been a one-hit KO, and yet stood back up. Wow. He and Ash came a long way if that's anything to go by. They've probably been together about three months by this point (they were lost for two weeks if the opening narration's anything to go by), and already Pikachu wants to prove to his trainer he is strong. In Pokémon-Amie terms: Pikachu's love for Ash was so strong, he held on just for him.

And tears were shed. (Figuratively, even though my eyes are unusually wet this time around...)

After being a bit useless for a bit and just now got back into their villainy, Team Rocket was great in this episode. This is the first episode we see where Team Rocket shows that they are good people deep down inside, a characteristic that will continue to be alluded to before it comes to a head (in a way) in Pokémon 2000 some ways away. Them cheering on Pikachu was a funny moment in just how dumbfounded Ash and the others looked on seeing three figures they pretty much recognize as their enemies (and will probably be the only time they recognize them in disguise). Brock's line sums it up for one way, “That was really disturbing,” and Misty's is another, “Thanks for your support!”

Also, James' breaking of the fourth wall at the end is the revelation that a comedic trio of villains screwed up. A great way to wrap up the episode by getting the final say.

So now that Ash got his badge the right way, it's going to be a little bit before we reach the next gym battle (which is more brutal than Lt. Surge's). It's time to sit back and just... cruise on through.

I watched this episode again last night, and I have to give Brock props for being so observant; it was his observations about Lt. Surge's Raichu lacking the speed attacks that it should've learned in the Pikachu stage that really helped Ash come up with an effective counter strategy. I still thought that the rematch was really rushed though. I would've liked to see Pikachu train to learn Quick Attack and Agility instead of him suddenly being able to use them when Ash challenged Lt. Surge again. But whatever, this was still a very solid episode.

It wasn't until the scene where Lt. Surge was giving Ash his badge that I realized how freaking tall he (Surge) was. He has to be 11 or 12 feet tall. I'm probably exaggerating.
Really enjoyed Team Rocket's forth wall break at the end of the episode.

team rocket was all around really great in this episode, cheering on Pikachu and all!

Someone once told me that Misty's cameos in Advanced Generation help make it easier knowing that she is no longer a series regular. They couldn't have been more wrong. After she leaves behind Togepi she returns to her gym more alone than ever AND ON TOP OF THAT, her last cameo was in 2005. 2005!?!?!? ITS BEEN TEN YEARS SINCE ONE OF THE CAST WHO STARTED THE SHOW WAS ACTUALLY ON THE SHOW!?!?